A CONCERT featuring two of Devon's best choirs will support a North Devon medical charity.

The Paul Lock Memorial Fund was created in 2007 in memory of a young doctor who worked at North Devon District Hospital.

After his untimely death his parents Chris and Gwen Lock set up the fund to enhance paediatric care in North Devon.

The charity is expected to get a major boost from the October 2 concert in Barnstaple which will feature the Barnstaple Ladies' Choir and the Budleigh Salterton Male Voice Choir.

Explaining the ethos of the charity, Paul's father Chris said: "There are some very committed and skilled professionals delivering paediatric care services across the North Devon area.

"We certainly feel it is important to recognise their achievements and encourage them to find new ways of developing their talents and processes to further enhance the quality of care they bring to our sick children and their families."

Mr Lock said some training opportunities have not fallen within the NHS Trust's definition of essential training and have been outside the available budget.

He said: "Consequently, these individuals are faced with either funding the training out of their own pockets, which does happen, or deciding not to pursue the potential enhancements.

"Under these circumstances, we are happy to consider providing funding support in full or in part."

Under the present political pressures Mr Lock believes the support offered by the charity is likely to become more important.

He said: "We are concerned that paediatric care in North Devon is able to keep up with fast changing new developments and techniques and this will become more and more challenging without the sort of support we can provide.

"Paul was very much a people person and this is why our aim has been mainly focussed on the paediatric area and finding ways of supporting junior doctors, medical students and nursing staff, thus encouraging them to make a difference both individually and collectively.

"We are amazed how many people remember Paul with such fondness and respect and especially in the paediatrics area which gave him such a lot of satisfaction."

Mr Lock said: "We really appreciate the generosity of the Barnstaple Ladies Choir in staging this concert for us as the proceeds will allow us to expand the value of the training and development support we can provide.

"The quality of care provided to local sick children and their families in North Devon is already high in comparison with many NHS Trusts around the country but we believe that this can be enhanced still further for the benefit of those families."

● The charity concert will take place at Barnstaple Parish Church at 7pm on Saturday October 2. Tickets are £5 and are available from Eyewear Creations Opticians in Bear Street, Barnstaple; the Tourist Information Centre, Braunton; and Braunton News, Caen Street, Braunton. They will also be on sale on the door.